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Monday, February 2, 2015

I now have an "uphill in the snow" story

You know the old joke that "old timers" would tell....you kids today have it so easy....when I was a kid, I had to walk uphill in the snow to get to school....

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It is currently snowing...again. School and office are closed. They are calling for up to a foot by the end of the storm, and the worst of it (as in falling 1-2 inches per hour) is happening right now. Keep this in mind.

So I got my car back on Thursday night to the tune of $812, for towing, battery, and power steering cables (and labor!!) plus the $93 from the towing on Monday. We are now the proud owners, to the tune of $189, of AAA plus. Yippee.

Friday morning...I drove the car FIFTEEN minutes...that is 15....and my car started making the same noise and doing the same thing that caused me to pull over last Monday (I can't believe it has been a week already). I called the shop, and they said I had to bring it in. And as it turns out....they didn't "really" investigate what was making the noise to start with. I couldn't bring it back that day....I had to be at the office because everyone was in a conference, and I was waiting for the copier guy (because as it turned out...the repair that the guy from Monday did broke again). They said I could drive it, just be careful.

(and for the record....on my way home from work....the car started making the noise again....about 17 minutes into the trip).

I brought the car in at 7:30am this morning. Right when they opened. I asked the guy about the previous repair, and he said that it must have been a miscommunication. They found a broken hose, so they ASSUMED that was the problem. And he is claiming he didn't know anything about the THUD noise and the back end shaking. Which was the reason I pulled the car over to start with.

Now, I was having ZERO problem with the steering before all of this. Interesting.

Fine...you know now...fix my car. I was told how because of the snow, they may not be able to get to it (which isn't what I was told on Friday, and we all knew there was snow coming by then). They probably can't road test it. I said...well...you know what I am describing....look at that part.

Then.....and this is really the point of the post.......I asked if they could drop me back home (they offer shuttle service for local addresses). I live about a mile away.

Oh no....I can't do that. All my guys are out plowing and I am here alone. You know, it is snowing...

Unbelievable. I brought my car in for the 2nd time in a week...because you didn't actually FIX the problem....and it is snowing, and you can't help me out?

I was told I could wait....but it could be a few hrs before someone could do it.

So I walked home. In the snow. And it was uphill the entire way. Took me about 20-25 minutes. I had to walk on the road because the sidewalks already had 6 inches of snow on them.

I am guessing I won't have my car back today. I have a reservation for a rental car for tomorrow. My neighbor let me borrow her car last week, which was so generous of her...but I don't feel comfortable asking her about this week (she offered last week...I didn't ask).

I am going to go get some coffee now.....because 8:30am is too early for wine.

Dang. That is some BAD car luck. My car is new to me, less than a year ago, yet a 2009 model, and 3 months into driving it, it became undriveable and needed a belt or something. Thankfully,only that (several hundred dollars, as I remember it). And thankfully,it was summer. I dread the thought of car crap-outs in terrible weather.

I had the same issue where I took my car in they found something wrong, fixed it and sent me home only to have to go back a week later with the same problem. My stuff was covered under warranty though so I lucked out. Did the mechanic say the work they already did needed to be done? Or did they replace because they thought it might be an issue?

They said the hose was leaking and THAT was the problem. So based on that information. ..I authorized the repair. Now with more information. ...it probably didn't need to be done right now. This whole thing is a little fishy.

We have used this place before and haven't had a problem. But this go around...

Many years ago we had a Ford Taurus station wagon. The transmission was slipping, so we brought it in to the dealer. They said it wasn't the transmission, but it was the engine mounts. They replaced them ($600?). I brought my husband back to the dealership to pick the car up, and followed him home. On the way home, the transmission died.

We ended up with a new transmission (under warranty), and my husband (a lawyer) refused to pay for the engine mounts. The dealer argued that we needed them anyway, but my husband wouldn't budge, and the money was refunded.